Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs Page #10

EASY... THERE'S NOT... THERE'S

NOT AN EASY ANSWER TO THAT.

I MEAN, SOME PEOPLE THINK THA THERE IS, BUT IT'S NOT.

THE CLASSIC CASE, OF COURSE,

IS A NUCLEAR WEAPON IN DOWNTOWN

MANHATTAN, HIDDEN, AND YOU HAVE

IN YOUR HANDS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO

KNOWS WHERE IT IS.

WOULD YOU WATERBOARD HIM?

LET ME TURN IT AROUND.

WOULD YOU?

THE REALITY IS, YOU HAVE TO

LOOK AT IT IN CONTEXT.

I MEAN, IF... IF, IN FACT, YOU

HAD CREDIBLE INTELLIGENCE THA THERE WAS A NUCLEAR WEAPON

PLANTED SOMEPLACE IN NEW YORK

CITY OR WASHINGTON, D.C., AND

THERE WAS ONE PERSON THAT WOULD

KNOW WHERE THAT BOMB WAS

LOCATED, IT'D BE VERY TOUGH NO TO RESORT TO EVERY METHOD

POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO GET THA INFORMATION.

I JUST HAVE TO BE FRANK WITH

YOU.

IF A PRESIDENT TOMORROW ASKED

ME TO WATERBOARD A TERRORIST, I

WOULD SAY, "MR. PRESIDENT,

SORRY, I DO NOT BELIEVE THA THAT IS WHAT IS IN OUR BES INTEREST AS A COUNTRY, AS AN

INSTITUTION OF C.I.A.

AND WE NEED TO FIND OTHER WAYS

TO GET THAT INTELLIGENCE."

IF SOME FUTURE PRESIDENT IS

GOING TO DECIDE TO WATERBOARD,

HE BETTER BRING HIS OWN BUCKE BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO HAVE TO DO

IT HIMSELF.

THE AGENCY IS NOT GOING TO DO

THIS AGAIN.

JUST AS WE WERE TALKING ABOU THIS SENATE INTELLIGENCE

COMMITTEE REPORT ON

INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES AND

TORTURE, IF YOU WILL, THE

QUESTION PEOPLE NEED TO ASK

THEMSELVES IS, TEN YEARS FROM

NOW, WILL PEOPLE BE ASKING THE

SAME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF

THESE DRONES?

Narrator:
THEY ARE LETHAL,

MAN-MADE BIRDS OF PREY.

WHEN YOU CAN STARE AT A

TARGET UNBLINKINGLY FOR HOURS,

IF NOT DAYS, AND THEN USE A

WEAPON AGAINST THAT TARGET THA HAS A 14-POUND WARHEAD IN IT AND

WITH AN ACCURACY MEASURED IN

INCHES, THIS ACTUALLY MAKES

WARFARE MORE PRECISE, AND THA SHOULD BE A GOOD.

ROGER.

YOU ARE NOW FREE TO ENGAGE THE

VEHICLE.

THEY GIVE YOU THE ABILITY,

ACTUALLY, TO MINIMIZE CIVILIAN

CASUALTIES OR COLLATERAL DAMAGE.

UNINTELLIGIBLE ORDER.

GIVE ME TEN SECONDS.

ROGER.

DIRECT HITS.

RIGHT THERE.

NOW, THE DARK SIDE.

THE DARK SIDE IS THE EASE WITH

WHICH A POLITICAL DECISION MAKER

CAN MAKE THE DECISION TO DO

THIS.

PEOPLE NEED TO BE CAREFUL

ABOUT BEING SO HAPPY WITH THE

USE OF THE TERM "KILL."

INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS IN

PARTICULAR HAVE TO WORRY ABOU THE USE OF THAT TERM.

THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN

PEOPLE ARE TALKING LOOSELY ABOU IT OR ENTHUSING TO ME ABOUT IT,

AND I WILL SAY TO THEM, "HAVE

YOU EVER KILLED SOMEONE?"

Narrator:
IT WAS ON GEORGE

TENET'S WATCH IN 2001 THA DRONES, ONCE JUST EYES IN THE

SKY, BECAME KILLING MACHINES.

I HAD A QUESTION, AND IT IS A

QUESTION THAT STILL NEEDS TO BE

ASKED TODAY, AS WELL: "DO YOU

WANT THE CIVILIAN HEAD OF AN

INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION FIRING

A WEAPON OUTSIDE OF THE CHAIN OF

MILITARY COMMAND?"

I NEEDED TO ASK THE QUESTION.

THEY NEEDED TO ANSWER THE

QUESTION.

WE NEVER GOT THE ANSWER TO THE

QUESTION, AND OFF WE WENT.

Narrator:
WHY AREN'T ALL

DRONES OPERATED BY THE MILITARY?

ONE REASON:
WHEN A COVERT C.I.A.

OPERATION GOES BADLY, IT CAN BE

DENIED.

I OBVIOUSLY CAN'T COMMENT ON

WHETHER THE C.I.A. CONDUCTS

OPERATIONS THAT WOULD BE UNDER

THE REALM OF COVERT ACTION.

COVERT ACTION IS, OF COURSE,

THAT YOU DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE THEM;

WHAT YOU DO IS YOU JUST DON' TALK ABOUT THEM.

Narrator:
IN FACT, THE

C.I.A.'S DRONE WARFARE PROGRAM

IS SO SECRET THE AGENCY DOES NO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT IT EXISTS.

YET SOME DIRECTORS ARE

SURPRISINGLY CANDID.

IT'S A COVERT ACTION.

IT'S AN ACTIVITY DESIGNED SO

THAT THE HAND OF THE UNITED

STATES IS HIDDEN.

IT ALLOWS YOU TO DO IT IN

CIRCUMSTANCES IN WHICH IT WOULD

BE MORE DIFFICULT FOR THE

MILITARY TO DO.

Narrator:
C.I.A. DRONE

STRIKES WERE ONCE RARELY

CONDUCTED OUTSIDE OF WAR ZONES.

THE TROUBLE WAS THAT WAS EXACTLY

WHERE AL QAEDA WAS REGROUPING.

IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2008,

C.I.A. MADE THE CASE THAT WE HAD

TO BEGIN TO GO DO SOME THINGS--

TARGETED KILLINGS, FOR EXAMPLE--

OUTSIDE OF:

INTERNATIONALLY-AGREED THEATERS

OF CONFLICT.

GET THIS GUY OFF THE BATTLEFIELD

BECAUSE "HE'S GOING TO COME KILL

YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN" WAS

ABSOLUTELY COMPELLING.

BY MID-SUMMER OF 2008, OUR

GOVERNMENT DECIDED ON A NEW

COURSE OF ACTION.

Narrator:
PRESIDENT GEORGE

BUSH GIVES THE GREEN LIGHT, BU HAVE DRONES GIVEN PRESIDENTS AND

DIRECTORS UNCHECKED POWER?

THE POWER TO DECIDE WHO LIVES

AND WHO DIES?

(CROWD PROTESTING)

DRONE ATTACKS VIOLATE EVERY

HUMAN LAW BECAUSE NO LAW ALLOWS

ANYONE TO BECOME JUDGE, JURY AND

EXECUTIONER.

AMERICANS ARE RUTHLESS

PEOPLE.

THEY ARE AGAINST ISLAM.

THEY ARE THE TYRANTS.

YOU KNOW, IT'S CURIOUS THA CERTAIN KINDS OF ACTIVITY ARE

CALLED "ASSASSINATION," OTHERS

ARE NOT.

Narrator:
IN 1976, PRESIDEN GERALD FORD SIGNS AN ORDER

PROHIBITING THE C.I.A. FROM

ENGAGING IN ASSASSINATION.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE USE OF

DRONES GOING AFTER PARTICULAR

TARGETS IS NOT TERMED AN

"ASSASSINATION" IN THE SENSE OF

THIS EXECUTIVE ORDER.

WHY NOT?

WHY SHOULDN'T IT BE?

I DON'T KNOW.

IT'S A QUESTION YOU COULD ANSWER

AS WELL AS I DO.

THERE IS A DISTINCTION

BETWEEN A POLITICAL

ASSASSINATION AND AGAINST A

TARGETED KILLING OF AN ENEMY

COMBATANT AFTER CONGRESS HAS

DECLARED WAR AGAINST AL QAEDA.

AND THE AUTHORIZATION FOR THE

USE OF MILITARY FORCE IS A

DECLARATION.

IT'S AS CLOSE TO A DECLARATION

OF WAR AS WE WILL EVER GET IN

THIS COUNTRY AGAIN, AND WE ARE

GOING AFTER ENEMY COMBATANTS

CONSISTENT WITH THE LAWS OF

ARMED CONFLICT.

Narrator:
PRESIDENT BARACK

OBAMA TAKES OFFICE AFTER A

CAMPAIGN CRITICAL OF GEORGE

BUSH'S WAR ON TERROR, BUT UNDER

THE NEW COMMANDER IN CHIEF,

DRONE STRIKES RISE DRAMATICALLY.

NATIONAL SECURITY LOOKS

DIFFERENT FROM THE OVAL THAN I DOES FROM A HOTEL ROOM IN IOWA.

TO BE ABLE TO GO IN, TO

CONDUCT SURVEILLANCE, TO TARGE THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND THEN TO

CONDUCT VERY PRECISE ATTACKS ON

THOSE INDIVIDUALS WAS THE MOS EFFECTIVE WEAPON WE HAD.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE COMMANDS)

CLEAR TO ENGAGE ALL.

THIS ADMINISTRATION PREFERS

KILLING TERRORISTS RATHER THAN

HOLDING THEM CAPTIVE.

AND THE REASON I THINK IS

BECAUSE IT'S HARD.

IT'S HARD TO CAPTURE.

IT'S... IT'S HARD WORK.

AND MANY WOULD CONSIDER IT DIRTY

BUSINESS.

THEY'RE KILLING A LOT OF

PEOPLE WITH, LET'S SAY, DRONE

STRIKES THAT WOULD BETTER BE

CAPTURED AND INTERROGATED, THA WE MIGHT HAVE A CHANCE OF

LEARNING WHAT THE TERRORIS GROUP IS GOING TO DO NEXT.

YOU CAN'T QUESTION SOMEBODY

YOU'VE KILLED.

SO IN OTHER WORDS, THE C.I.A.

IS JUST, "WE'RE TAKING NO

PRISONERS?"

I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S THE

C.I.A.'S POSITION; I THINK

THAT'S THE PRESIDENT'S POSITION.

I... I THINK HE IS KILLING MORE

PEOPLE THAN HE NEEDS TO, AND

WE'D BE BETTER OFF CAPTURING

SOME OF THEM AND INTERROGATING

THEM.

WE WILL DO EVERYTHING

POSSIBLE TO SEE IF WE CAN

PREVENT THEM FROM BEING

SUCCESSFUL, CAPTURING THEM.

AND WHEN THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE,

WELL, THEN I THINK THE PRESIDEN SHOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO... TO

TAKE ACTION.

END THE AFGHAN WAR!

STOP THE DRONE ATTACKS!

END THE AFGHAN WAR!

STOP THE DRONE ATTACKS!

Narrator:
YET SOME WATCHDOG

ORGANIZATIONS CLAIM THA AMERICAN DRONES HAVE KILLED MORE

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes